Bottomland Hardwood & Wetland Restoration

Wildlife Mississippi is a member of the Tri-state Conservation Partnership, which targets specific watersheds in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, or the historic floodplain of the Mississippi River, to improve water quality, enhance water management, and restore wildlife habitat.

Partnership Goals

The Partnership is protecting thousands of acres of wetlands. It relies on computer models to expand existing protected areas, increase hydrologic connectivity among tracts, and benefit forest breeding birds, waterfowl, and other wildlife.

Other members include The Nature Conservancy, the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Walton Family Foundation.

Wildlife Mississippi Success

Over its 25-year existence, Wildlife Mississippi has protected, restored, or enhanced approximately 72,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands, mainly through government incentive programs such as Wetland Reserve, the Conservation Reserve Program, wetland mitigation, and various other programs

Water-control structures can be important tools in wetland restoration.

It also has developed educational tools such as the Conservation Finance Center, a website that allows landowners to compare the economics of conservation to farming and other land uses. Wildlife Mississippi was among conservation groups and agencies recently celebrating 25 years of success and an important milestone in Wetland Reserve easements.

Private landowners in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana have now restored and protected 750,000 acres under the program.